Murder in A Small Town
by katie on the block
Summary: Tragedy strikes Troy and Sharpay Bolton when they find their little girl missing. A ransom note, a horrific finding, and a lot of legal work and interrogation plays out. Based off of the JonBenet Ramsey story. Rated M due to death and sexual themes.
1. Finding Elizabeth

**You may have noticed that I deleted a lot of my stories. Most of them were deleted because they had nothing to do with the categories they were in, but the actors and actresses of the characters they played. They weren't that great, so I was thinking of deleting them anyways. Other stories that I was working on got deleted because I lost interest in them and had writer's block on all of them. I will continue the **_**Bandslam**_** fanfic called "Miracle Out of Love" and I'm also working on this one, so I'll go back and forth between the two to update. I hope you guys like this one, even though it's tragic and very sad. It's kind of based on JonBenet Ramsey and her murder. If none of you know her story go to **www dot jonbenet-ramsey dot com **and you'll read a little about it.**

**MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN**

**CHAPTER 1: FINDING ELIZABETH**

* * *

Sharpay let out a rack of sobs, running into hers and Troy's room. She had three pages of paper in her hands, which were trembling. Tears were streaming down her face and was hysterical, due to the two and a half page letter she'd found on the bottom step of their staircase. Sharpay quickly ran to the bed and shook Troy.

"Wake up!" Sharpay said. "Troy, wake up!"

Troy groaned a little, but he sat up and looked at Sharpay. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"It's Elizabeth! She's not in her room! She's not anywhere!"

"Calm down, Jules, I'm sure she's fine."

"She was kidnapped! The letter, it says it right here, it says they have her and if we fail to give them $118,000 they're gonna behead her!" Sharpay said as a rack of sobs escaped her throat.

"What?" Troy asked, taking the note from her. He read it quickly but thoroughly, and tears filled his eyes as he ran his hand through his hair, standing up from the bed. "Go check on Logan, make sure he's still in his room. I'll call the police."

Sharpay sobbed as Troy left the room and she walked out of their bedroom, down the hall. She held her stomach, feeling a bit queasy as she approached hers and Zeke's (they had him shortly after high school graduation) nine-year-old son's bedroom door. She stayed still for a few seconds and turned the doorknob, slowly pushing the door open. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that he was sprawled out on his bed.

_Typical Logan, just like Zeke_, she thought to herself. Sharpay walked over to him and she picked his blanket up from the floor, draping it over him. She noticed his eyes open and they looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Why are you crying?" Logan asked.

Sharpay smiled and shook her head. "No reason, Honey. Go back to sleep; it's still early."

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. Go back to sleep," she said, kissing his forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too. Tell Lizzie to stay out of my room."

"What?"

"She opened my door last night and then closed it."

"Did she say anything?"

"No."

"Did you see her?"

"No, but she's the only one that wakes up in the middle of the night."

"Oh… Okay… Go to sleep. I'll be downstairs," Sharpay said, walking to the door. She let out a small breath and she closed his door, before making her way downstairs. She ran her hand through her hair and she found Troy in the living room, hanging up the phone. "He's fine. What did the police say?"

"They said they're on their way with a detective. I'm going to call Gabriella, see if she can come over to keep Logan entertained when he wakes up."

"Call Taylor and Chad. And Kelsi and Ryan."

"Alright. You sit down, I don't want you getting too worked up," Troy said, picking up the phone again.

"Yeah, you're right… Sitting down isn't going to make me worry about my baby girl missing," Sharpay said, sitting down.

Troy sighed and ignored the sarcasm as he dialed Gabriella's number. "Just try to stay calm, okay? For Logan. For Lizzie."

"I'll try, but I'm not promising anybody anything."

"_Hello?"_ Gabriella asked.

"Gabriella, it's Troy," Troy said.

"_Yeah, I totally didn't recognize your name flashing on my screen."_

"Funny. Listen, I need you to come over. We need you to keep Logan entertained and occupied when he wakes up."

"_It has to be right now? It's 7:00 in the morning, Troy."_

"It's important. I'll explain when you get here, just get here and fast," Troy said, hanging up the phone and turning it on again.

Sharpay sighed and she closed her eyes, running her hand over her stomach.

"Are you okay?" he asked, dialing Chad's number.

"Yeah, I just… I'm nauseas. I just wish I'd puke and get it done and over with."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A few days."

"Maybe you're—hey, Chad," Troy said.

"_What the hell, dude? It's too early for phone calls," _Chad said.

"Sharpay woke up this morning and found a ransom note saying someone kidnapped Elizabeth."

"_We're on our way over."_

Less than thirty minutes later, three policemen, a female detective, Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Kelsi, and Gabriella had shown up almost at the same time. Logan woke up during Sharpay's breakdown to Ryan, so Gabriella was sitting on the couch with him in her lap while Sharpay and Troy were talking to the detective.

"So, Mrs. Bolton; you woke up and found the letter first thing?" Detective Barnett asked.

Sharpay nodded. "Yes. I came downstairs to get a head start for the morning and get a design done for my fashion line, and I found the note on the last step of the staircase; it keeps replaying itself in my head."

"Alright. You checked to see if Elizabeth was in her room?"

"Yes. I checked everywhere. Her bedroom, the play room, the attic, all of her favorite places. I checked in the backyard."

"Do you have a pool?"

"Yes, but I looked there when I first went outside because she likes to sit on the edge and pretend she's a mermaid."

"Does Elizabeth have a playhouse?"

"Yes, but I checked. She wasn't there, she wasn't anywhere."

Detective Barnett nodded, writing a few things down on a notepad. "Mrs. Bolton, you have a son from a previous relationship, correct?"

"Yes; Logan."

"Did you check in his room when you were checking in the house?"

"Not right away. After I showed the note to Troy, I went to check on Logan and he was asleep, but Elizabeth wasn't in there, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"I understand you're frustrated, Mrs. Bolton, and I'm sorry about the interrogation, but it's just regulation and precautionary questions."

"I know, I… I'm just… Scared. I'm being threatened my baby girl's life. The note said she'll be beheaded if we don't hand over the $118,000 they're demanding."

"Does that number mean anything to you?"

"It's the amount Troy's Christmas bonus is."

"Alright. I have more questions, but how about you relax? Eat something, drink something, sit down and just try to have a normal couple of hours with your friends. I'll talk to your husband for a little bit and then I'll come back to you."

Sharpay nodded and she ran her hand through her hair, sitting next to Gabriella on the couch. She bit on her nails, until she felt someone's hand pull hers out of her mouth.

"Mommy, don't bite your nails; they'll be jagged," Logan said.

Sharpay chuckled a little. "I'm sorry, Mommy's just nervous…"

"About Lizzie?"

"Yeah…"

"Where is she? Is she okay?"

"I don't know, Honey…"

Logan changed places from Gabriella's lap to Sharpay's and he leaned against her, laying his head down on her shoulder. "Mommy?"

"What, Baby?" Sharpay asked, running her hand through Logan's hair.

"Is Lizzie dead?"

Sharpay stiffened and she stayed that way for a few seconds. She looked at Logan and shook her head, kissing his forehead. "No, Baby. She's not dead… She's just hiding."

"Why are the cops here?"

"To help us find her."

---

Troy watched Sharpay talk to Logan intently, and he turned his attention to Detective Barnett when she approached him.

"Mr. Bolton, you're absolutely sure you checked every part of this house?" she asked.

"Well, not every single part, we have a basement that has several rooms, but Elizabeth never goes down there," Troy said.

"There's a first time for everything. I'd like you and Mr. Danforth to check the basement, every single room slowly, carefully, and thoroughly, to make sure you don't miss anything. Can you do that?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah, sure. Of course."

"If you don't find anything there, check anywhere else that has multiple rooms as well."

"Alright. Chad? Let's go."

Troy and Chad walked into the basement, turning on lights as they went. Troy walked past three windows, but Chad noticed a corner of the middle window was missing a chunk of glass.

"Troy," Chad said. "You see this?" he asked, gesturing to the window.

"What?" Troy asked, looking at him. "Oh, I did that last summer. Locked myself out of the house."

Chad nodded and followed Troy, double checking every room he went into. He went ahead of Troy and walked to the door of the boiler room. He opened the door and turned on the light, his heart stopping and his blood feeling cold as soon as he turned on the light. He saw his six-year-old niece laying on the floor, with her hands tied above her head, a rope tied around her neck, with a sheet over her torso. He let out a sudden sob and ran over to her, taking the sheet off of her and untying her hands.

"Troy, I found her!" Chad shouted.

Just as Troy rushed to the doorway, Chad rushed past him with his little girl in his arms, her own arms still in the air. He ran after Chad and followed him to the hallway.

"Detective Barnett!" Troy shouted.

Detective Barnett ran into the hall just as Chad laid Elizabeth's body down on the floor. She stared for a few seconds and looked at Troy. "Go call 9-1-1, Mr. Bolton."

Troy stared at Elizabeth and then looked at Detective Barnett.

"Go call 9-1-1," she repeated.

As Troy ran out of the hall, Chad picked up Elizabeth's body again and walked into the den, carefully laying her down on the floor. He took off his jacket and laid it over Elizabeth, covering her face, letting out a sob. He stayed still and quiet until he heard Sharpay's shrilling scream and he stood up, backing away from Elizabeth's body.

Seconds later, Sharpay ran into the room and she knelt next to Elizabeth, throwing Chad's jacket off of her, and she sobbed, leaning down and resting her head on Elizabeth's head. "No, please no!" she shouted. "Bring her back! Bring her back; please bring her back!"

"Jules…" Troy said, softly.

"Jesus, please… You raised Lazarus from the dead, please raise my baby!"

Troy let out a sob and he ran his hand through his hair, looking away from Elizabeth, trying to focus on something else. While his wife screamed and sobbed over their dead baby girl, he tried to drown out his guilt.

**

* * *

So, what did you think? I know this was an extremely tragic scene, but I wasn't as descriptive as I could have been with the finding of little Elizabeth's body. I figured it'd just make it sickening (as if it isn't already) to describe a six-year-old's dead body. Let me know what you think.**

**Oh, btw: Jesus really did raise Lazarus from the dead. I thought it was an interesting thing to add in there. Patsy Ramsey (JonBenet's mother) said that herself, and it's also in all of the movies that were made based on JonBenet's murder, so I figured that would be interesting to put in there.**


	2. Investigate, Interrogate and Confessions

**Boris Yeltsin: Thanks for reviewing. And, I liked them too, but I just didn't have the brain to get them going again, so I deleted them. But, this one should definitely make up for it.**

**MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN**

**CHAPTER 2: INVESTIGATE, INTERROGATE AND CONFESSIONS**

* * *

Elizabeth's body had been moved out of the house and taken to the coroner's office. Sharpay and Troy were currently at Troy's parents' house because the police and investigators were at their house. Sharpay was still shaken up, but was doing her best to keep herself calm and together, for Logan. She was sitting on the couch right now, with Troy's three-year-old sister in her lap, while Troy was helping Jack cook lunch.

Looking down at Sarah, she smile and ran her hand through her soft red hair. "Are you tired, Sare Bear?" she asked.

"No," Sarah said.

"You yawned."

"I'm not tired."

"Well, how about after lunch, me and you can cuddle together?"

"Okay."

"You wanna get down and play Lego's with Lolo?"

"Yeah."

Sharpay let Sarah get down, and she let out a small sigh, running her hand through her hair. She stayed silent and watched Sarah and Logan play together. Tears filled her eyes and they fell silently as she stared at the kids, wishing that _both_ of them were hers, playing together.

"Jules?" Troy asked.

Sharpay looked at Troy and stared at him. That's when she saw Detective Barnett at his side. She let out a slightly annoyed sigh and she stood up from the couch. "Logan, keep an eye on her," she said.

"Okay," Logan responded.

Sharpay followed Troy and Detective Barnett into the kitchen and she sat at the kitchen table, next to Lisa.

"Mrs. Bolton, the coroner found apple in Elizabeth's intestines. It wasn't digested yet; did you maybe give her an apple before bedtime?"

Sharpay shook her head. "No. When we got home she was asleep, so Troy just carried her into her bedroom."

"Got home from where?"

"The Christmas party at East High."

"What did she eat there?"

"Just a few bites of a banana, but she threw it up."

"Are you sure all of it came up?"

"Yeah. She puked for ten minutes straight and the last couple of minutes were just water. That's why we came home."

"Was she running a fever?"

"No. When Troy was putting Lizzie into bed, I was getting Logan tucked in, and then we both went to bed and I woke up and found the ransom note."

"Mrs. Bolton, you seem to be fairly calm about this, whereas you were a complete disaster at your own home."

Sharpay's expression hardened and she sent daggers with the glare she was giving Detective Barnett. "Excuse me?" she said, harshly. "At my own home, I woke up to find my six-year-old daughter missing. At my own home, I found a ransom note that threatened to behead my six-year-old daughter. At my own home, I saw the body of my dead six-year-old daughter lying in the floor with so many bruises on her body she looked like she'd been used as a punching bag!" Sharpay shouted, standing up.

"Mommy?" Logan asked from the doorway.

Sharpay, along with everyone else, turned her head to look at him. "What, Baby?"

Logan pointed to the TV in the living room, which at the moment had a picture of Elizabeth on the screen. "Lizzie's dead."

* * *

"I want every television in this house unhooked," Lisa said.

"Lise, don't you think you're taking this out of control?" Jack asked.

"Out of control? Jack, our grandson saw his little sister on the news and found out she was murdered."

"He's not o—"

"He _is_ our grandson. He has been since Sharpay gave birth to him. You and Troy go around and unhook the TV sets. Now," she said before making her way into the living room.

Lisa stopped in the doorway when she saw Sharpay lying on the couch, leaning over the edge of it, vomiting into the small trashcan they kept near the inn table. She walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling Sharpay's hair away from around her neck and she ran her hand over her back to soothe her.

Sharpay gagged a bit and coughed, spitting the excess vomit into the trashcan. She had tears running down her face and she sniffed, letting out a small groan as she laid on her back.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Lisa asked.

"I'm fine, Mom; thanks…" Sharpay said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. All this drama's just got my stomach upset. I'm sure once I get over the shock of it all, I'll be fine."

"Well, I think you should make a doctor's appointment. I'll drive you over."

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Sharpay Juliet Bolton, don't contradict me. You're not fine; there's something going on with you."

"My daughter was murdered in my own house and I didn't know about it until hours after it happened!" Sharpay said, in an attempted shout that was covered by a raspy voice as tears started sliding down her cheeks again.

"You're throwing up, Sharpay."

"I'm pregnant!"

Lisa looked at Sharpay for a few seconds and she smiled lightly. "Honey, that's great."

"Is it? Really? I mean, the whole reason Troy and I tried for another baby was to make Lizzie a big sister, and now it's completely shot because she's dead."

Lisa couldn't help but feel bad for Sharpay. She knew how much Elizabeth was cherished. She was a very special little girl. "She's still a big sister. She's just in spirit now."

"It's not the same…"

"I know…"

Sharpay let out a rack of sobs and she ran her hand through her hair. She didn't want her baby girl to be gone. She saw her with her own eyes. Hands stiff above her head. Skin ice cold and lips purple. Face ashen instead of glowing. The only thing that she was glad about was that she and Troy aren't the ones that found her dead. That would have been horrible on the both of them. She couldn't help but think about how awful and scared Chad was, finding his niece laying on the floor all tied up with a rope around her neck. The thought of it made Sharpay's stomach churn.

Leaning over the edge of the couch, Sharpay started vomiting yet again and heard footsteps walking into the room, but she wasn't concerned about who was entering.

"How long has she been throwing up?" Troy asked.

"I'm not sure. I walked in, in the middle of the first time, this is the second I've witnessed," Lisa said.

"I'll take it from here, Mom; you go keep Logan and Sarah occupied."

As Sharpay coughed the remaining vomit from her throat, she felt Lisa and Troy switch places. She felt Troy's firm hand on her thigh.

"You alright, Babe?" Troy asked.

Sharpay nodded and lay back on the couch again. She ran her hands over her face lightly and she sniffled, looking at Troy. "I love Mom and everything, but does she have to be so damn ignorant?"

Troy laughed and he nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. It's her job as a mother to care about her kids, and we've been her kids since we were born."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Julia called. Said she and Vance were about an hour away from us."

"Great… Another drama queen. It's like God doesn't think one Sharpay is enough, he has to bring in the ultimate bitch."

"Jules, that's not true."

"It is. I'd rather have our friends here."

Troy was about to answer until he heard a knock at the door. "Stay here," he said, leaving the room.

Sharpay laughed a little. "Where am I gonna go?" she asked herself.

A few seconds later, a rather familiar—and slightly annoying—English accent sounded in the room.

"Sharpay, I'm so sorry; I heard about Elizabeth on the news and I couldn't get ahold of you to see how you were doing," Tiara said, with a noticeable hint of tears in her voice.

Sharpay sat up and scooted back, to rest against the arm of the couch. Tiara Gold _never_ felt sympathy for her. "Don't worry about it, Tiara; I'm doing fine. We're all shocked and we're devastated, but we've been keeping it together the best we can," she said, sharing a hug with the younger girl.

"It doesn't seem right, the media putting her on the news. She was just a little girl; they don't have to spread the details."

"It's their job. If it helps catch her killer, then I want everything out in the open."

The only things Sharpay will not tolerate being released to the media are the pictures taken at the crime scene of Elizabeth and the autopsy photos. Those are private, confidential pictures that should stay hidden deep down in a file somewhere.

"But, still," Tiara said. "They've never made such a big deal out of something like this."

"Not since Columbine," Troy said.

"Virginia Tech," Sharpay corrected him. "Columbine is just remembered most."

"What does that have anything to do with Elizabeth?" Tiara asked.

"Nothing really, just that a little girl's murder was upstaged by two massacres."

"Sharpay, Chad is here," Lisa said from the doorway.

"I'll go," Troy said.

"No. He wants to talk to Sharpay."

Sharpay and Troy exchanged the same confused look, but Sharpay got up from the couch and ran her hand through her hair as she made her way into the foyer. She walked over to Chad and tears filled her eyes when she saw that he was crying. She looked at him for a few seconds before both of them wrapped their arms around one another.

"Shar, I'm so sorry…" Chad said.

Sharpay shook her head. "This wasn't your fault. Whoever did this is going to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives. That alone is punishment enough, but something has to be done… What if this person is a serial killer? He'll do it to other little girls…"

"I saw Zeke earlier…"

Sharpay looked at Chad, pulling away from the embrace a bit so she could look at him. "Okay?"

"Shar, he had a rope burn on his hand. It was really similar to the one on Liz's neck."

"…What?" she whispered. "Y…you think Zeke had something to do with this?"

"I'm just telling you what I saw, Shar; I'm not trying to wrongly accuse him, but I think you should take it to the police."

"Detective Barnett is here. She's questioning Dad."

"Your parents are here?"

"No, no; Troy's parents. Mine will be here soon."

"You should let her know."

Sharpay nodded and she took Chad's hand in hers, leading him to the kitchen, where Detective Barnett and Jack were. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Chad found out something," she said.

Detective Barnett and Jack turned their heads towards Sharpay and Chad. "What is it?" Detective Barnett asked.

"Well, I don't know if it's anything… But, I saw a buddy of mine earlier today and he had a rope burn similar to the one on Elizabeth's neck," Chad said.

"You're sure it was similar?"

"I'm the one that found her lying on the floor; yes, I'm sure. I'm positive."

"What's your friend's name?"

"Zeke Baylor."

"Baylor?" Detective Barnett questioned, looking at Sharpay. "Isn't that your son's last name?"

"Yes; Zeke is his father," Sharpay said.

"Is there any way you can get him down to the police station?"

"Isn't that your job? Busting the pervert that did this to my daughter? Why can't you just get one of your men to catch him off guard and take him in for questioning?"

"That's enough, Shar; go in the living room," Jack said.

"Actually, I'd like her to stay; I want to question Logan," Detective Barnett said.

"No," Sharpay said. "Nuh uh, he's a little boy; I'm not making him go through this."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bolton; it's regulation that I question everyone that knows your family."

"Well, Logan is out of the questionnaire, so get the idea out of your head."

"Sharpay, they can't go on with further investigations if Logan doesn't answer questions. It's necessary," Jack said.

Sharpay sighed and she shook her head. "Whatever."

* * *

"Logan, Detective Barnett is going to ask you some questions, okay? You have to answer her and you have to tell her the truth," Sharpay said.

"Is it 'cause of Lizzie?" Logan asked.

"Yeah."

"Logan, when was the last time you saw Elizabeth?" Detective Barnett asked.

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"Lizzie," Sharpay said, looking at Detective Barnett. "He only knows her as Lizzie."

"I'm sorry, Logan; when was the last time you saw Lizzie?" Detective Barnett repeated.

"Last night," Logan said.

"Where were you?"

"At home."

"What were you doing?"

"I went downstairs to get a drink of water."

"What about Lizzie?"

"She was sitting at the table."

"What was she doing at the table?"

Logan kicked his feet lightly in the chair he was sitting in and he laid his head on Sharpay's arm.

"Logan, you have to answer her," Sharpay said.

"What was Lizzie doing at the table, Logan?" Detective Barnett asked.

"She was sleeping," Logan said.

"Why was she sleeping?"

"I don't know."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"My dad said to get a drink and go back to bed. He said he'd take Lizzie back to her room."

"Your dad? …Honey, are you talking about Zeke?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah. He was there last night. He got me a water bottle and then told me to go back to bed."

"Did you go back to bed?" Detective Barnett asked.

"No."

"What did you do?"

"I walked upstairs and I looked out the little hole in the floor to see what he was doing."

"What was he doing?"

"He picked her up and walked to the basement with her."

"And what did you do after that?"

"I went to bed."

"Do you know why he went to the basement with her?"

Logan shook his head. "No…"

"Oh my god…" Sharpay whispered. "Chad was right… It was Zeke…"

"Can I lay down? I don't feel good," Logan said.

"Yeah, Honey; go in the living room."

Sharpay watched Logan walk out of the kitchen and she sighed, staying silent for a few seconds. "…I don't feel that well either… Excuse me," she said, standing up.

"Go on, Sweetheart; we'll still be here when you get back out," Lisa said.

Detective Barnett watched Sharpay leave and she let out a small breath, looking at Lisa, Jack, Chad, and Troy. "Is she alright? I understand this is upsetting, but she's taken quite a few trips to the bathroom."

"She's pregnant," Lisa said. "She's been throwing up all day. I'm sure this hasn't helped settle her stomach."

Detective Barnett was just about to say something, when her cell phone rang. "Excuse me," she said, walking out of the kitchen.

"She's pregnant?" Troy asked.

"That's what she told me," Lisa said. "When I was in the living room and she was getting sick. I told her she needed to make a doctor's appointment and I'd take her and she told me she was pregnant."

"Oh…"

"She didn't tell you?"

"No…"

"Oh… Well, I'm sure she was going to. She's just upset about all of this, Honey; give her some time, okay?"

Troy nodded just as Detective Barnett walked back into the kitchen. "I have great news," she said.

"What's that?" Troy asked.

"Zeke Baylor just confessed to killing Elizabeth."


	3. Tirade, Tension and Twins

**Boris Yeltsin: Wow, you're a fast reader. I posted the chapter just minutes before you reviewed, lol. Thanks for reviewing. And, ideas are always welcome so whatever ideas you have, please let me know.**

**othhsmfan: Thanks! Yeah, Zeke's a bit of an ass in this story. We won't really see or hear much of him, except when Sharpay confronts him in prison. I plan on making that chapter ONE of the best, if not the best of all the story.**

**MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN**

**CHAPTER 3: TIRADE, TENSION AND TWINS**

* * *

It had now been three weeks since Elizabeth's death. Troy and Sharpay were still dealing and coping with it, but they were a lot better now than they were before. They both explained to Logan what had happened to Elizabeth, without explicit details. Elizabeth's funeral took place a week and a half ago and Logan's one request was to give his little sister a kiss before she was laid to rest. The whole service was emotional, but for Sharpay, Logan giving such compassion was the biggest turn. Everyone but Troy, Sharpay, and Logan had been cleared from the church so Logan could have his time with Elizabeth. Sharpay couldn't believe how spiritual Logan was, especially since they'd never attended a church service.

Logan talked to Elizabeth for a good fifteen minutes before he finally said, "I know I never said it to you and I was a super rotten big brother, but I really do love you more than all the stars in the sky." That sent Sharpay over the edge. She also broke down when Logan told her that Elizabeth would always be with them because they still have all of her pictures and the home videos. Sharpay cried the hardest at the funeral and especially during Elizabeth's burial because she knew she'd never be able to hold her baby girl again.

They also moved into a new house. It was surprisingly quick to both of them. They put all of Elizabeth's things in storage for more room, although the new house they moved into was two stories with five bedrooms. Sharpay and Troy of course got the master bedroom. Logan's bedroom was two rooms over, and they already had a nursery in between their room and Logan's. Since they didn't know the sex of the new baby, they decided not to paint the room until they found out. Right now, all that's in the nursery is a crib, a changing table, and a dresser. All three could easily be moved to the middle of the spacious room when it came time for painting and decorating.

Today was a better day; however both Sharpay and Troy had a court appearance. Troy tried telling Sharpay it was just because it was something they had to do to be cleared from the suspect list, but Sharpay was completely convinced that it was because they were going to try to twist their questions to make their answers seem like they were admitting to killing their own baby girl.

Right now, Sharpay was on the stand. Troy finished just ten minutes before herself. She was already started to feel emotional, but she was trying not to crack.

"Mrs. Bolton, you said you found the ransom note on the stairs, correct?" Sylvia Benson asked.

"Yes," Sharpay said.

"Did you read the note?"

"Yes."

"What did you do after you read the note?"

"I checked Elizabeth's room and then I went to wake up my husband."

"And did you and your husband check everywhere in the house for Elizabeth?"

"No, not right away."

"Why is that?"

"Troy was trying to get me calmed down."

"Your husband would rather sit with you than search for your missing daughter?"

"I was having an asthma attack."

Sylvia nodded and took a few seconds to gather her next series of questions. "Mrs. Bolton, where is the first place your husband looked for Elizabeth?"

"The basement."

"Why is that?"

"She used to go down there to play."

"Did your husband find Elizabeth in the basement?"

"No."

"Who found her?"

"Troy's best friend."

"Where did he find Elizabeth?"

"In the very back room of the basement."

"Why didn't your husband look in all of the rooms in the basement?"

"Because Elizabeth isn't tall enough to reach the doorknobs."

"Mrs. Bolton, I have an eighteen-month-old son that can reach the doorknob of our front door."

"The knobs are high."

"Approximately in feet, how high are the knobs?"

"Around five feet."

"Why would you have a doorknob almost to the top of the door?"

"So the kids can't open it."

"You didn't think they'd climb something?"

"Like what, the wall? My kids are smart, but they aren't strategic. Neither of them can even play on the monkey bars at school, you think they'd be able to hold their weight climbing up a wall to open a door?"

"Mrs. Bolton, how do we know that you didn't kill your daughter?"

"Objection!" Alison Neilsen snapped.

"On what account, Miss Neilsen?" Judge Thatcher asked.

"They're already accusing the Boltons of killing their daughter, that question was completely irrelevant."

"How is it irrelevant?" Sylvia asked.

"Because there's no proof that they killed her!"

"There's no proof that they didn't, either," Judge Thatcher said. "Sit down, Miss Neilsen. Miss Benson, please repeat your question."

"Mrs. Bolton, how do we know that you didn't kill your daughter?" Sylvia repeated.

Sharpay glared at Sylvia. "Maybe because she was the love of my life? She meant the world to me. Who in their right mind would harm their own child?"

"Maybe you were in your left mind. Did it cross your mind that maybe your husband killed Elizabeth?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because our detective announced that Zeke Baylor confessed to murdering her, but some people are too ignorant to focus on him and the clues that were left behind."

"And, what were those clues?"

"A rope burn."

"A rope burn? That's all?"

"It was made by the same kind of rope he used to strangle my daughter!"

"Enough," Judge Thatcher said. "Benson, get yourself together. I want you back here this Monday. Court adjourned," she said, banging her gavel.

* * *

Sharpay let out a small sigh as she sat down on hers and Troy's bed. She ran her hand through her hair and looked at Troy for a few seconds. "That bitch grilled me…" she said, laying down and scooting closer to him.

"She sure seemed to like patronizing you. Maybe she's a lesbian," Troy said, looking at her wardrobe. "Just a t-shirt and panties? My kind of girl."

Sharpay laughed a little. "I just wanna be comfortable. I also wanna feel good. Really good. Would you do the honors?" she asked, kissing his lips.

"Oh, I'd love to. You know I like to make you writhe in the palm of my hand. Literally."

"You just like to get me wet and then make fun of me with river jokes."

Troy laughed and he slid his hand into Sharpay's underwear. He slid his finger over her slowly and grinned when she closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest.

"Mm…" Sharpay moaned. "Stay slow… I want it to last."

"I will. When's your next doctor's appointment?"

"Tomorrow."

"What time?"

"Two… Uhh… Oohh, Baby…"

"Am I making you feel really good?"

"Really, _really_ good."

Troy kissed Sharpay's head and he let his finger circle over her slowly. He felt her center start throbbing and he knew she was getting closer to climaxing.

Sharpay's mouth dropped open a little and she let out a sharp breath, pushing her hips into him a little further. "Oh, god, Troy… Mm…"

"Wow, you must be pretty worked up. It takes you forever to get this far when I'm being rough," Troy said.

"Shut up. Shut up, you're ruining it. Shut up."

Troy laughed a little and he kissed her head. "Want me to go faster?"

"Um… I…" Sharpay stammered, shuddering. "Fuck!" she snapped, reaching her climax. "Oh, god… Mm… Oh my… Troy… Uhh…"

Troy slid his finger over her until she stopped throbbing and he slid his hand out of her underwear. He kissed her head. "Feel better?"

Sharpay breathed unevenly for a few seconds and she nodded. "Yeah… Thank you."

"Anytime."

* * *

"Hello, Sharpay. Troy, I see you're not nervous this time. Any chances of passing out, please sit down first," Doctor Casey Kavass said.

"Funny," Troy said. "I'm fine."

"Good. Sharpay, if you'll lay back and lift up your shirt, I'll get the machine ready."

Sharpay lay back on the table. "So, do you think I might be far enough along to know the sex?" she asked, lifting up her shirt.

"You're still flat as a board; I doubt you'll be far enough along," Casey said, turning the ultrasound machine on.

"Well, will you be able to tell exactly how far along I am?"

"Most likely an approximate week. I don't do week, day, hour, minute, second. I'm not that good," she said, squirting gel on Sharpay's stomach.

"Well, you're better than nothing."

"Thank you, that's very sweet," Casey said with a small eye roll.

"Sorry."

Casey slid the ultrasound camera around on Sharpay's stomach for a few seconds. "By the size… I say at least ten weeks. However, you're going to start showing at about twelve or thirteen, they're a little bigger than most."

Sharpay and Troy looked at each other before looking at Casey. "They?" they asked.

"Yeah. You're having twins. Possibly triplets. There's something on baby B that I can't distinguish. It could be a mass, just the way the baby's laying."

"A mass?" Sharpay asked. "Like a tumor?"

"Yes."

"And you're calm about this?"

"Sharpya, you have nothing to worry about. I'm more convinced that it's either triplets or the baby is positioned awkwardly. It's too early to tell. I'll tell you what, I'll schedule an appointment for in three weeks and I should be able to tell by then, okay?" Casey said, turning the machine off.

"Okay…"

"If I thought this were something serious, I'd tell you," she said, wiping the gel off of Sharpay's stomach.

"I know, I just… I already lost one baby, I don't want something wrong with another…" she said, in almost a whisper.

"I'm extremely sorry about Elizabeth. She was such a bright and beautiful little girl."

"Yeah, I know…" she said, sitting up.

"Are you two holding up okay?"

"Somewhat… It's still hard to believe sometimes."

"What about Logan? Is he doing alright?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah. He asks a lot of questions, though."

"That must be tough."

"It is some days."

"Well… I'll print these pictures out and I'll give them to you before you leave. It'll take about ten minutes."

"Okay."

Casey left the room and Sharpay looked at Troy with tears in her eyes. "Twins," she whispered. "We're having twins…"

"I heard…" Troy said. "Twice the work."

"Twice the blessing."

**

* * *

Okay, so I have no idea what happens in court with something as serious as a murder and I'm pretty certain that I botched the whole court scene. I realize in the las chapter, Zeke confessed to murdering Elizabeth and I forgot about that until I mentioned him in this one, so hopefully I didn't make it too bad. But, I think the other scenes came out okay. How'd you like that little fiasco in the bedroom with Troy and Sharpay? Oh, and I know there wasn't much description in the story except for the very beginning, but I tried to make it lengthy. It's a little over 2,000 characters so I didn't do too bad. By the way, I'm kind of running out of ideas. I need you guys to throw some ideas my way. I don't want to stay settled on Elizabeth's murder for too long, even though that was the initial idea of the story. I want to veer away from the murder and let everyone (character wise) have somewhat of a normal life centered around themselves and their friends. Of course, every chapter will have Sharpay in it, as she is the main character, so she needs to be contributed into the idea. There's Troy too, but he's been with her for the first three chapters. There's other people to think about as well, like Logan, Troy's parents, Sharpay's parents, Ryan, Kelsi, Taylor, Chad, Gabriella, and there's going to be a chapter (or at least a fraction of a chapter) where Sharpay visits Zeke in prison to grill him. Let me know your ideas.**


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